In west-central Minnesota, dentists and orthodontists refer to the first weekday as “MACCRAY Monday.” Students in the MACCRAY school district attend school Tuesday through Friday, making Mondays the day for appointments, jobs, school work and family time.

The community has identified with the school district’s efforts to tailor education for its needs and save the rural district money, according to the Star Tribune. At first people were skeptical, but the experiment started in 2008 and now residents want to retain the benefits.

The state is unreasonably saying no. The Minnesota Department of Education is phasing out approval of four-day school weeks, often citing that academic performance is suffering. That’s what officials told the MACCRAY district.

However, a look at the department’s Minnesota Report Card, which tracks state-mandated test scores, doesn’t reflect that problem. MACCRAY students performed above or at the state average in 2010 to 2014.

Politics may more likely be the reason for the state wanting districts to back away from shorter weeks. The state has increased funding for schools, so districts taking cost-cutting measures may present a public relations problem. The governor also has said he wants the Legislature to consider requiring more school days.

But the rural districts that have tailored their week so transportation costs can be significantly trimmed know it’s the hours spent on academics, not the number of days, that matter. Longer days can mean that the chemistry lab that had to be continued on a second day can now be finished in one. Longer days can mean the pep-fest for the state-bound football team doesn’t have to gut the afternoon. Longer days mean teens can do work-study or job shadowing without missing valuable classroom time.

MACCRAY isn’t alone in its interest on this issue. In this region, Sleepy Eye Public Schools applied for a four-day school week for the 2012-13 school year, but the application was rejected. Nearly a dozen school districts have operated on alternate calendars, the Star Tribune reports, and four others in addition to MACCRAY have been ordered to revert to five-day schedules next fall. Three other districts are up for renewal of their schedules next year.

Not much research has been done on the effects of four-day weeks. But the research that does exist points to no harm done academically, and a Montana professor found students with four-day weeks actually improved academically.

Lawmakers in the Clara City region, where the MACCRAY school district is located, plan to propose legislation that allows districts to determine their own schedules. That’s legislation worth passing if it means local school districts can make the decisions that work best for their schools and their students.

— The Free Press of Mankato, Dec. 29